Nic Wise, Wisely Waiting in the Shadows for the Arizona Wildcats

He’s not Jerryd Bayless or Brandon Jennings. Many University of Arizona fans dreamed of a Bayless and Jennings combo. Instead Jerryd Bayless was drafted by the Indiana Pacers then traded to the Portland Trail Blazers on draft night and Brandon Jennings is playing basketball in Italy next year.

So much for the team combo that everyone was dying to see. With neither Bayless nor Jennings in the lineup, we look for a new leader, introducing Nic Wise.

Wise could have started on almost any Pac-10 team last year minus Arizona and UCLA. Wise has the speed, intelligence and passing ability to be a break guard at Point Guard University also known as the University of Arizona.

Wise averaged 29.4 minutes per game with 9.2 points per game including 4.4 assists per game last year. It is expected that all these stats will go up now that he will be the starting point guard for the next two years.

Wise is entering his junior year and has accepted the role as captain for Lute Olson’s squad next year. Although the talk of a National Championship is probably out of conversation, Arizona still needs to recover from the train wreck of last season. Little does everyone know is that Arizona was a turnover away from losing Wise as well.

One thing that frustrated Wise last year was the lack of starting role on his team. Despite averaging 29.4 minutes a game, he wasn’t starting every game. This was also the same reason why former guard Lucas Laval Perry left the team after five games last year.

Perry left Arizona to return to his home state of Michigan where he will be eligible to play in January. Wise was interested in returning to his home state of Texas where he could have replaced the sophomore sensation D.J Augustine instead Wise came back to Arizona.  

Then again did anyone really think that Wise was going to transfer? His younger brother Dondre Wise plays a few miles away at Pima Community College where he was fourth on the team in scoring; Nic also was fourth on the team in scoring at Arizona this past season.

Although it’s doubtful that Arizona will recruit Dondre for next season with the recent signing of another Texas combo guard in Garland Judkins.

The season is only a few months away and a lot can happen in Tucson, Ariz. Lute Olson returns after a year hiatus and is 19 wins away from 800 wins.

Olson will have to rely on his three returning starters Nic Wise, Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill to get his team ready for the upcoming season. The Wildcats will also return Jamelle Horne, Zane Johnson, Fendi Onobun, David Bagga and Alex Jacobson.

The Wildcats also bring in three new freshmen Jeff Whitney, Brandon Lavender and Kyle Fogg. For a recap on who’s who in Arizona stay tuned…it’s only getting hotter in Tucson.